Activity at Gulfport Sportsplex continues to grow

Florida State Seminoles girls softball team warms up before game (Image Source: WLOX News)

GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) -

This weekend, two NCAA top ten women's softball teams met up for a preseason double header in Gulfport. Although softball season is still months away, top 10 teams, like the Florida State Seminoles and the Louisiana- Lafayette Ragin Cajuns, don't get winning seasons by resting.

“We just really wanted to have a challenging schedule with a lot of the young kids we had coming in. So, we had the opportunity of us meeting at a central point, and this happened to be a fantastic complex and location to play the game,” said Antonio Santiago, who is the Director of Softball Operations for Florida State.

The only problem was that the Gulfport Sportsplex fields were already booked for a girl's fast pitch tournament this weekend, but those are the kinds of problems David D'Aquilla wants to have and is glad to solve.

“Our goal this year was to bring in 10,000 teams from January through December. We still have this event through this weekend with the 58 teams. We've got a couple more events coming up before the end of the year,” said D'Aquilla.

The Gulfport Sportsplex has undergone several renovations over the years, which has led to more tournaments being booked and more families visiting Gulfport.

“I was really shocked it was 14-years-old. It looks very new. This is probably the premiere spot for a tournament anywhere in this area,” said Santiago.

D'Aquilla is pleased with the feedback he has received on the facilities at the sportsplex, and says the only complaint he has gotten is that there are not enough fields.

“The more people that we can get on site and into one location allows tournament promoters to do a little bit more,” said D'Aquilla.

While an expansion isn't currently in the works, that hasn't stopped any tournaments from being booked next year.

Residents are still taking additional measures to stop the violence in Moss Point. Saturday afternoon, an outreach program on Main Street continued its efforts in the fight that's been going on for the past weeks.

Residents are still taking additional measures to stop the violence in Moss Point. Saturday afternoon, an outreach program on Main Street continued its efforts in the fight that's been going on for the past weeks.